Firm Profile > Global Law Office > Beijing , China

Banking and finance: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office's key areas of expertise are onshore, offshore and cross-border financing; advising foreign and domestic banks and companies on project financing in relation to the One Belt One Road initiative (including sovereign borrowing supported by the export banks), cross-border loan transactions, green financing and debt financing in the PRC. The team is jointly led by Lawrence Lin, whose broad practice encompasses in foreign investment, M&A, acquisition and project finance, international syndication, and asset finance; and M&A, foreign direct and overseas investment expert Xin Zhang.

Healthcare and life sciences: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office advises biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device clients as well as financial institutions investing in the industry. It is well positioned to advise clients on compliance and regulatory, transactional, financing, licensing, IP and dispute settlement for adverse effect in clinical trials and medical treatment. The 'business savvy and client friendly' team saw an increasing instruction in the portable medical devices and mobile medical platform sphere. Alan Zhou specialises in compliance and regulatory matters and is regularly instructed on big-ticket M&A transactions. Michael Yu counts Tencent as a major client which he recently advised on the merger of Tencent Doctorwork and Trusted Doctors, a medical service providers that provides online and offline clinics in China. Bojia Zhao focuses on onshore and offshore public offerings and venture capital transactions.

TMT: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office is noted for its full contentious and non-contentious TMT offering, handling IP disputes, as well as public offerings, private equity investments, debt financing, IP licencing and transfers, cyber security and data protection matters, for a range of Chinese technology companies, including Tencent. The group, which is based across Beijing and Shanghai, is jointly led by international and domestic private equity expert Steven Yu, Vincent Wang, who specialises in operational and regulatory work (including encryption and matters relating to e-payment), and intellectual property specialist Meph Jia Gui. In July 2018, the team was greatly boosted by the arrival of Maggie Meng, who advises multinationals and SOEs on data protection, from an in-house position with Mobovoi.

Capital markets: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office's sweet spot is in advising underwriters and issuers on complex structured transactions and securitisations in debt and equity capital markets. The group has wide sectoral expertise, spanning the TMT, manufacturing, healthcare, real estate, banking and education sectors, and clients include investment banks and multinational and domestic corporations. On the debt side, the group has expertise in advising Chinese issuers of overseas bonds and non-Chinese issuers of Panda Bonds. The group is based across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and is instructed on domestic and overseas matters. Key figures on the team include managing partner Jinrong Liu, who has experience advising on equity offerings on Chinese and various overseas markets, including the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange; derivatives, structured finance and securitisation expert Xin Zhang; and Yu Zhang, who has experience advising on M&A involving listed companies.

Corporate and M&A: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office advises on all aspects of private acquisitions and disposals, public takeovers and mergers, with particular strength and expertise in cross-border M&A deals and transactions involving SOEs, PRC-listed companies and public companies in capital markets of other jurisdictions. Managing partner Jinrong Liu and Shifang Guo advised Xiamen Tungsten on its $1bn acquisition of Kazakhstan tungsten mines and acted for CICC Capital Management and ARA Asset Management on establishing a joint venture and the subsequent acquisition of a commercial real estate from Tishman; Steven Yu acted for Puhua Capital on its participation in the VIE structure and series E financing of Ximalaya.com and advised Tencent, the controlling shareholder of Tencent Doctorwork, in the merger transaction of the Tencent Doctorwwork and Trusted Doctors. Huawei Lin counts Blackstone, Warburg Pincus and KKR as his major clients. Yu Zhang, Alex Liu and Cheng Li are also key names to note.

Dispute resolution: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office handles a wide variety of commercial litigation and arbitration, representing clients in cases including asset management and securities disputes, as well as arbitrations in China and abroad. Clients include a mixture of SOEs, foreign companies and financial institutions. The department is jointly led by Yifeng Gao and Xiusong Xing. A representation of the group's capabilities, Xing is representing the Yoovidhya Family (the Thai founders and owners of Red Bull) in multiple cases before the China International Commercial Court.

Fintech: PRC firms Tier 2

Led by Jinrong Liu, Steven Yu, and Vincent Wang, Global Law Office handles a wide spectrum of work in the fintech space, including onshore, offshore and cross-border transactions, P2P, online payment, and blockchain. A diverse group of clients includes Tencent, Shanghai Shi Zhuang IT Co., and the Xiaomi group, with matters focusing primarily on mergers, financing, and stock offerings for technology companies in a range of industries, including healthcare, TMT and retail. Jinrong Liu and Qiuning Kang advised Shanghai Sina on the $115m acquisition of P2P company Bejiing Jiubangwo.

Private equity: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office 'gives very constructive advice' and it 'offers clients best solutions that are both compliant and highly practical'. Its client roster features a number of global leading private equity houses including Warburg Pincus which it recently handled its Series D financing of Mofang (China) Service Group. It also advises the invested companies in a broad range of sectors in their financing transactions. Shenzhen-based Cheng Li and Jihong He advised Hive Box on its Series A+ financing round. Steven Yu has over a decade experience of advising international and domestic private equity and venture capital firms, as well as e-commerce giants in their investments in China-based TMT companies. Yu advised Tencent on its Series D preferred share investment in Kuaikan World (Cayman). Michael Yu advised CITIC Capital on its RMB3.65bn investment in Beijing Century Kangrui Medical Management. Other recommended individuals are managing partner Jinrong Liu and Huawei Lin.

Projects and energy: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office provides a full-service to domestic and foreign project owners, developers, investors, lessors, lessees, lenders and borrowers. The group is particularly focused on the resource extraction industry, but it has experience in a variety of domestic infrastructure projects, including urban transport and development, the construction of aviation facilities. Department head Kevin Wang specialises in project construction and energy, and is ably supported by corporate lawyer Miller Wang.

Regulatory/compliance: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office has notable expertise in corporate investigation and anti-corruption matters. Within the team, Alan Zhou is particularly experienced in all aspects of regulatory compliance issues for pharmaceutical and healthcare sector clients; litigator Weiwei Gu specialises in handling administrative investigation cases; Michael Weng handles investigations and enforcement of white collar crimes and management frauds; and of counsel Jacky Li is well versed in conducting investigations in connection with employees and commercial bribery.

Shipping: PRC firms Tier 2

The shipping and maritime team at Global Law Office is spread across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It routinely advises on disputes involving charter parties and maritime contracts as well as non-contentious matters for an enviable client roster of Chinese banks, international commercial banks, investment banks, ship owners and shipbuilders. In Beijing, the team is jointly led by Yifeng Gao, Jingye Jiang and Ting Lei.

WTO/international trade: PRC firms Tier 2

In September 2018, Global Law Office merged with specialist international trade firm HaoLiWen, significantly boosting the firm's offering, taking on, among others, customs expert Deming Zhao. The group is jointly led by the 'very experienced and diligent' Frank Hang, who handles anti-dumping and countervailing cases, and Qing Ren, who is a veteran of WTO dispute settlement and trade policy issues. In addition to contentious matters, the group advises domestic and international clients on trade law compliance.

Antitrust and competition: PRC firms Tier 3

Global Law Office is singled out for its 'great responsiveness and deep understanding of SAMR proceedings'. Qing Ren is the 'go-to' person and handled a large number of major merger control filings. John Wan has 'a full understanding of Chinese and foreign anti-monopoly law, legislative dynamics, and key law enforcement issues' as well as 'notable expertise in the automotive industry' which 'enables him to give precise compliance advice'. Wan recently assisted a pharmaceutical company with an abuse of dominance litigation and advised on a number of anti-monopoly investigations. The team further strengthened its investigation and compliance capacity with the hire of Shujun Liu and Lili Wu from Fangda Partners in 2018.

Investment funds: PRC firms Tier 3

Leveraging its full-service offering and its strong expertise in sectors such as TMT and healthcare, the team at Global Law Office advises on a broad range of fund formation, license application, tax, regulatory and compliance, and ongoing operations and closing transactions. The team's 2019 hire of five lawyers, including Xianlai Liu, Yuan Yuan, Jinghe Wang, Zhihong Jian and Huijie Xu from a major PRC firm, has allowed it to expand its offering in the fund formation and investment space. The team operates from its Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen offices in China where Jinrong Liu, Amy Dai and Shifang Guo are highly recommended.

Labour and employment: PRC firms Tier 3

Global Law Office's labour and employment group is well-known for its expertise in establishing labour management systems, handling human resources issues and resolving complicated labour disputes, especially for multinational entities. Practice head Zhao Li is an experienced litigator - both in the context of arbitration and traditional court cases - while Weiwei Gu specialises in regulatory compliance and defence. Also notable is Gaochong Hu who is based in Beijing with all other named attorneys.

Real estate and construction: PRC firms Tier 3

Global Law Office advises clients on designing, financing, bidding and tendering for construction projects. It also handles project development and operation, M&A of real estate companies and dispute resolution. The team is often instructed by real estate companies on capital markets matters, including bond issuances and IPOs. Huawei Lin, Kevin Wang, Miller Wang, Jason Wang and Minghao Xu jointly lead the department from the Beijing office.

Intellectual property: PRC firms

Global Law Office is known for litigation involving patent, trademark, copyright and un-fair competition. The firm also has expertise in research and training related to IP law. Notable in this area are Ying Mu, Ping Qiao, Jack Zhanke Li, Hongbin Zhang and Meph Jia Gui. They co-lead the team with with Yonghua Zhang, who joined from Legal Affairs Department of SIPO in 2018; and Degang Ma, who arrived from Jingtian & Gongcheng in 2018.